POLAR VORTEX GARDENING
by Carole Schwalm

Welcome to climate change/polar vortex/“who knows what spring may bring” gardening. Does it sound like a battle? That it is. Should spring ever come, the extreme snow will melt, but plants can’t be set out until the ground is not mushy anymore. Planting is delayed. Harvest is delayed, providing there isn’t a drought or snow and freezing in July.

A greenhouse creates your own little controlled environment. Placing plants in containers and positioning them up off of the floor – add mulch and blanket because, in a cold snap, soil in containers is more susceptible to freezing solid.

Do your research planting early in the greenhouse or cold frame, checking out the coldest temperatures plants can handle and protect even more if necessary.

Can you Grow Vegetables all Year Long?

Yes you can grow crops all year round, vortex and all, using the sun’s heat to regulate temperatures. In many areas of the United States, the sun’s appearance in winter is rare (as our Ohio correspondants can attest), as you research cold tolerance, look up light requirements. Not to worry, like ‘there’s an app for that’ there are grow lights for that too.

Here's to happily picking tomatoes in November.